Buying The Right HDTV For You
HDTV sets are here to stay. With prices anywhere from a couple hundred
dollars up into the tens of thousands, it's important to do your
research and find an unbiased review. Even though the salesman at your
local best buy store is probably a good guy, you can often find some
great HDTV deals online as well if you know what to look for. You want
to know things like the type of HDTV you need, which resolution you
want, what inputs the TV has, the right viewing angle, and the best
contrast ratio to get. If all that confuses you don't let it. I'm here
to help make sense of all the tech jargon and find the right TV for
you.
Most likely you're a digital cable TV or satellite subscriber. Either
way, the first thing you want to do is find out what kind of HD channel
lineup your provider offers. Most major digital cable service providers
like Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Charter, and Cox have great high
definition channel packages with some great specials and discounts for
new customers. Dish Network and DirecTV have the satellite picture
covered with equally strong HD tiers. Your cable and satellite provider
should have nearly every HD channel currently broadcast available, but
make sure just in case before you purchase a new HDTV.
Once you've gotten a great high definition channel package from you
cable or satellite provider, you'll need to decide whether you want to
go with LCD, LED, plasma, or projection. Rear-projection based HDTV's
are based on the oldest technology and usually have lower resolutions,
contrast ratios and viewing angles. I usually recommend staying away
from rear-projection HDTV's, but if price is a big hurdle you can find
some really good deals on rear-projection televisions and you can at
least put your foot in the high-def world. If you're budget isn't as
restricted, most HDTV's produced today are LCD based. There's wide
range of LCD HDTV's out there but for the best picture focus on TV's
that have a 1080p resolution and stay away from 720p screens. These
numbers refer to the screen resolution with 1080p being the best.
You'll find some HDTV's that sport a 1080i resolution. While it's
usually a better picture than 720p, the "i" in 1080i indicates that
it's an "interlaced" resolution which isn't as smooth or clear as a
1080p "progressive-scan" picture. However, if you find a great deal on
a 1080i HDTV, the price difference may justify the slightly lower
picture quality. Plasma screen HDTV's were the first high resolution
sets that really made everyone see what a difference HD made. The first
plasma screens that came out, though, were prohibitively expensive
costing thousands of dollars. Today, with competition from LCD HDTV's,
the prices have come down considerably. Both plasma and LCD screens
have advantages and disadvantages over each other and usually it comes
down to personal preference. LED HDTV's are the latest innovation in
the market. LED screens are LCD's that incorporate LED back-lighting to
boost color range and contrast ratio while reducing energy consumption.
Of course they cost more than standard LCD HDTV's and are targeted to
those looking for the latest and greatest. For television connoisseurs,
though, LED's offer the best picture and the slimmest profiles you can
currently buy.
After you've decided which HDTV format is right for you it's time to
look at the small features and make sure the television you're thinking
about purchasing has what you need. Make sure the HDTV's you're looking
at has all the connections you want. These include audio and video
input/outputs and PC connections. Next, read the fine print for the
maximum view angle. This is how far you can stand to the side of a TV
and still see a clear picture. The bigger the viewing angle the better
the HDTV and the more places in your living room you can enjoy the
picture besides directly in front of it. Last but not least, take a
look at the HDTV's contrast ratio. This is a measure of how dark the
dark colors are and how bright the light colors are. Ideally you want a
high contrast ratio, but because each manufacturer may use a different
method for calculating the ratio you usually have to decide for
yourself by looking at the picture. Stay away from screens that produce
blacks that appear gray or whites that are dull and lack "pop".
Even with all the confusing marketing hype the bottom line is HDTV is
amazing. Prices have come down greatly over the past couple of years
and today you can get a huge TV and easily stay under the $1500 mark.
But if you don't know what to look for you can get burned with a low
resolution picture with washed out colors. I hope my article has helped
you know exactly what to look for when you head online or to the
electronics store for a new TV. When you get the right HDTV it will
revolutionize how you watch television forever.
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